Lulic insists break suits Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder Senad Lulic said his side enjoyed some much-needed rest, after their first-up FIFA World Cup loss to Argentina.

On debut at a World Cup finals, the Bosnians performed admirably as they fell 2-1 to a Lionel Messi-inspired outfit, who are widely considered to be among the favourites to win the title in Brazil.

Lulic, 28, was credited with Bosnia's first World Cup assist after he laid a ball off to Vedad Ibisevic, who slotted a ball through Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero's legs for their historic goal.

But after the pressure and attention that came with their performance against Alejandro Sabella's powerhouse, Lulic said it was important they took some time off before turning their attention to their clash with Nigeria on Saturday.

"We are expecting a very hard match against Nigeria. But as always we are going into the match giving 100 per cent and we are expecting a very good performance," the Lazio man said.

"A day off is always good for a player and we enjoyed ourselves yesterday but we know we have two difficult matches against Nigeria and Iran and they are our main opponents for second in the group."

A rising star in the Bosnian outfit, midfielder Muhamed Besic began his World Cup career in some fashion - starting in an international for just the fourth time, and effectively man marking Messi.

But the 21-year-old Ferencvaros man said he was looking ahead, as Bosnia mapped their way out of Group F.

"As always we want to win but it also depends on the situation, we wanted to win against Argentina but we didn't," Besic said.

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